Disposable paint applicator

ABSTRACT

A paint applicator in the form of separate sheets of rigid and absorbent materials bonded together and having the same length but differing widths. The narrower absorbent material projects in one direction from the bond area for immersion in a paint to be applied and the wider rigid material projects in the other direction from the bond area, serving as a handle. The materials may be in the form of long strips when bonded, for subsequent cutting to particular lengths for specific applications.

United States Patent ['19] Finnerty July 2, 1974 [5 DISPOSABLE PAINT APPLICATOR 3,029,809 4/1962 Madlung 15/244 ux 3,080,594 3 1963 R l5 2lO R [76] Inventor: Robert Fmnerty 891 Prospect 3,094,729 6/1963 D2112 151244 x He1ghts,$anta Cruz, callf- 95060 3,137,880 6/1964 Kubitet a1. 15/244 R 22 June 1 3,214,778 11/1965 Math1son 15/244 R [2]] Appl' 370,979 Primary Examiner'Daniel Blum Related US, Application Data Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Flehr, Hohbach, Test, Al- [63] Continuation-impart of Scr. No. 177,191, Sept. 21, bntton & Herbert 1971, abandoned.

[57] ABSTRACT g 15/244 gg A paint applicator in the form of separate sheets of 58] lg/10494 6 R 5 R rigid and absorbent materials bonded together and o ga i''fi'f f 161/145 101/130 having the same length but differing widths. The narrower absorbent material projects in one direction 56 R f Ct d from the bond area for immersion in a.paint to be ap- 1 e erences I e plied and the wider rigid material projects in the other UNITED STATES PATENTS direction from the bond area, serving as a handle. The 2,092,438 9/1937 Wilt 15/210 R materials may be in the form of long strips when 2,259,547 10/1941 Booth 15/244 X b ded, for subsequent cutting to particular lengths Dl'LlCkS R X for pecific applications 2,860,011 ll/l958 Dunn 300/21 2,899,698 8/1959 Vaughn 15/244 R 1 Claim, 3 Drawing Figures DISPOSABLE PAINT APPLICATOR CROSS REFERENCE TO A COPENDING APPLICATION This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 177,191, filed Sept. 21, 1971, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The need to apply paint or other fluids to objects is more or less omnipresent, and a need that often goes unfilled because of the lack of a suitably sized paint brush for the job at hand and/or the disagreeable necessity to thoroughly clean brushes after use in order to preserve the usefulness of relatively expensive bristle or filament type brushes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND OBJECTS An object of this invention is to provide an applicator for fluid substances which, when in use, bears a resemblance to the conventional paint brush insofar as general form is concerned but is nevertheless, for reasons of economy and convenience, a departure from the conventional materials and methods of fabrication. A benefit deriving from this economy is the feasibility of disposing of the device in its entirety after use.

Another object is to provide an applicator the precise size and shape of which might be varied to suit the requirements of the work in question.

Still another object is to provide in a low cost paint applicator an opportunity to display advertising or informational material on its prominent surfaces via the expedient of low cost, high speed printing techniques, or other methods.

How these objects are to be realized will be explained in detail in the following description and accompanying drawings of a preferred embodiment chosen for the purpose of this disclosure but not intended to be limiting as to the method of achieving these objects. Variations from this specifically stated structure may suggest themselves to persons normally skilled in the art but they would yet remain within the spirit of this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference to the numbers appearing on the drawing is the stiffener or strip of rigid material which imparts the desired degree of resilience to the absorbent material 11 of the applicator per se, which is by preference a plastic material that is soft and yieldable. The absorbent material 11 and the stiffener 10 may be in the form of sheets or strip. One surface of the main body of the absorbant material 11 adjoins the surface 15 of the stiffener in the vicinity of one edge and is fixed thereto by bonding or other suitable means. The full length of the absorbent material, which is equal in length to the longitudinal dimension of the stiffener, extends beyond the edge of the stiffener and a portion of this edge is beveled as at 12.

That portion of the stiffener surface 13 not contiguous with the absorbent material, together with an equivalent area 14 on the reverse side, provides a bandle for the purpose of manipulating the device as an applicator. The stiffener 10 is preferably a single thickness thin section rigid material. It is readily apparent that the flat surfaces 13 and'14 are also well suited to the display of instructional material, advertising, labeling or other forms of communication. This is an important advantage deriving from this'construction.

The body 11 is an elongated strip which is parallelpiped in shape. The narrow side faces of the body are inclined with respect to the main faces thereof so that two beveled edges are formed. By making body 11 symmetrical, assembly of the stiffener and absorbent material is facilitated in that either beveled edge of the body may be the applicator edge. I

It is contemplated that this invention is to be produced in strips of various lengths to be subsequently cut to the size desired for use, and also that it can be produced already cut to optimum size for use as individual applicators.

I claim:

1. In a construction for providing a plurality of devices for applying paint, a single, elongated sheet-like member lying in a single planeformed of a relatively rigid material having a first surface and at least one side edge lying in a straight line, an elongated, relatively narrow body of resilient material substantially parallelpiped in shape having a first planar surface secured to said first surface of said sheet-like member adjacent said edge and extending the length of said edge, said body being capable of absorbing paint, said body having a second planar surface generally parallel to said first planar surface, said body having a third planar surface inclined at an angle with respect to said first surface of the sheet-like member and the second planar surface of the body to form a resilient lip-like portion extending the length of said edge and being spaced outwardly and downwardly from said edge, said sheet-like member and said body having a size so that a plurality of separate sections may be formed therefrom by separation along spaced lines which intersect said edge whereby each section has a portion of said sheet-like member and a portion of said body to form one of said devices and wherein said portion of said sheet-like member has a width so that it can be used as a handle and said portion of said body can be used for the application of paint. 

1. In a construction for providing a plurality of devices for applying paint, a single, elongated sheet-like member lying in a single plane formed of a relatively rigid material having a first surface and at least one side edge lying in a straight line, an elongated, relatively narrow body of resilient material substantially parallelpiped in shape having a first planar surface secured to said first surface of said sheet-like member adjacent said edge and extending the length of said edge, said body being capable of absorbing paint, said body having a second planar surface generally parallel to said first planar surface, said body having a third planar surface inclined at an angle with respect to said first surface of the sheet-like member and the second planar surface of the body to form a resilient lip-like portion extending the length of said edge and being spaced outwardly and downwardly from said edge, said sheet-like member and said body having a size so that a plurality of separate sections may be formed therefrom by separation along spaced lines which intersect said edge whereby each section has a portion of said sheet-like member and a portion of said body to form one of said devices and wherein said portion of said sheet-like member has a width so that it can be used as a handle and said portion of said body can be used for the application of paint. 